Flowers having sex...

Spent the day out in Piedmont Park photographing (and waiting on a Prius...that story later) and testing for pollen; both a big success! Spring is here; I took my first Claritin.

Most people wouldn't be very excited about taking their first anti-allergy medicine of the year, but for me, taking it at the first sign of a sniffle, or of goopy eyes, or of gritty tears means cutting the worst of the damage off at the pass.

I used to delay taking the drugs until the last possible minute because of the drowsy after-affects. I would balance "non-drowsy", marginally effective stuff during the day with the heavy-hitting "don't operate machinery" whoppers at night. That cocktail, along with tiny doses of the out-of-doors, air-conditioned indoor breezes, and lots of hair-washing, nettles-taking, nose-blowing, and eye-dropping would get me through late March / April.

I'm a sinus poster boy no more! Because of the miracle of modern medicine, I am no longer afraid to go outside...because of pollen. Now, if only there was a drug to prevent for UV radiation exposure, winter fat, pasty-white skin, and humidity...